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Auspex
Saith the +sinfo: Auspex is a Divination ability that allows a Mage to sharpen any or all of their senses, at will, for as long as they want. It is a power that borders on what folklore would call Extra Sensory Perception, and may have actually been the source of such terminology. Depending on the level of skill that a Diviner has over this ability, Auspex can manifest in a number of ways, such as permitting the mage to detect people in another room, hear arrows in flight, feel that someone they know has just entered the same room as they without any visual cues, and - at higher skill levels - even offer a glancing insight into the thoughts and emotions of others. In +taskroll terms, then, the layout goes like this. Poor: Animal level sensory enhancement without discernment. Can detect that there are people in the next room. Mediocre: Able to pick out a given conversation nearby - say, within ten feet - with clarity. Can tell that someone is "about to enter" their room - i.e. when someone is there but hasn't yet posed in. Fair: Able to pick out a given conversation in a crowded tavern with clarity. Can identify the 'feel' of a person they know well who may be in alternate form (wildform, eidolon). Able to pick out a person's name/identity if they are not using Disguise or Mask. Good: Able to pick out a given conversation in an outdoor urban 'room' with clarity. Great: Vague idea of what a person is feeling. Superb: Clear idea of what one person is feeling, vague idea of what's on their mind. Legendary: Clear idea of what one person is thinking and feeling. (which is not to say that you can pick up "Man, grandma's chery pie was great last night." You'd get 'sense of pleasure, thoughts of family and pie.') Needless to say, one cannot use the powers above a 'great' roll on more than one person; a Diviner can discern the general mood of a crowd, but no more. Saith the +sinfo: The Diviner may also sense things that they would otherwise not sense, which might be important to their personal safety, or of those around them. How this danger sense is used, however, often depends on the talents and morality of the mage using it. (In a practical sense, Auspex becomes a 'free perception roll' where one might not otherwise have one, or is +cast at 0 in cases where Perception would be rolled at -1 or -2, such as against Stealth or Mask.) Saith the +sinfo: However, traumas caused by sensory overload (very bright lights, loud noises, etc) while in this state last much longer, and are a constant threat to a mage delving into the acute benefits that the Auspex ability provides. (What this means is, the more you try to do the more likely it is you're going to be asked to roll Willpower to see if you can handle the data you're asking for. If you fail that roll, it's not mageblock but your character may well wind up wishing it was.) Saith the +sinfo: The environment and the local population of that environment will dictate the threat of sensory overload to the Diviner and how well they can use their skill without suffering from sensory overload. The less populated and illuminated an area is, the better that Auspex will function. Poor: You can determine the presence of life forms within 10 feet of you. Mediocre: You can determine the presence of life forms within 50 feet of you. Fair: You can determine the presence of life forms within 100 feet of you. Good: You can determine the presence of life forms within 1000 feet of you. Great: You can determine the presence of life forms within 5000 feet of you. Superb: You can determine the presence of life forms within your wildlands 'square'. Legendary: You can determine the presence of life forms within neighboring wildlands 'squares'. Notes: This use of auspex is ONLY valid in Wilderness rooms. Attempting to use this aspect of the power in an urban room WILL flatten your character with sensory overload. Yes, even in a small village. Further, your sensory options are the following. Sentient vs. Animal, and One vs. Several. You cannot pick up that Wildlings are 500 feet south of you but Humans are 500 feet east of you - you can pick up that 'several' 'sentient life forms' are 500 feet south and 500 feet east. Likewise, you cannot determine whether the 'animal' you sense is a snowshoe hare or a mankiller bear. It's an animal. You can tell that an animal is x feet in x direction - no more. (Wise diviners who wish to find their friends with this power are advised to combine its use with Dimensional Gateway and Runes of Tracking. Deductive reasoning can often be a great help.) Notes In game terms, Auspex is very much a 'what you do with it' sort of skill - it's as powerful as you are creative in its use, and so a lot of what it can and can't do becomes specific to the situation. That said, there are some things you just can't do with Auspex alone. * To identify someone you know with Auspex who is in Alternate Form, you do not need to make an opposed roll. (See above). If, however, someone is actively trying to hide themselves - such as with Disguise, or Mask, or simple shyness or reserve, the Auspex roll must be opposed by the relevant skill. (Disguise, Mask, Willpower.) Auspex gets your foot in the door, it is not Truesight. * Auspex cannot be used to identify the true form of someone you do not know (or have never seen in their true form) who is using Disguise, Mask, Wildform, Lycanthropy, or Eidolon. Auspex truly ignores the outer form in this respect; if you first met Wilson when he was using Eidolon to bounce around as a Mongoose, you'd be able to recognize that mongoose anywhere but you'd need to make another roll to pair the mind you sensed as a mongoose with the man's human form when you encounter it. If you've never seen Wilson's human form, you can't look at the mongoose, cast Auspex, and discern it. * ANY ATTEMPT at opposing an Auspex roll WILL weaken its effect. The way one does this is as follows: Terrible = 1 Poor = 2 Mediocre = 3 Fair = 4 Good = 5 Great = 6 Superb = 7 Legendary = 8 and so on. The opposing Willpower roll's score is subtracted from the auspex roll; the result (using the above lists) will tell you what the diviner can rightfully sense. Thus even a less than skilled attempt at resisting a diviner will have SOME effect. * Mask and Disguise may be countered with Auspex at 0, but the Diviner will only know the true identity if the true identity was previously encountered. Otherwise, the best you can do is go 'you're in disguise/hiding behind an illusion'. * The Sekrit Diviner Telepathy: Two diviners with Auspex - who are both WILLING participants, neither attempting to conceal their thoughts or feelings at all - are generally able to communicate silently at will. If both Diviners are at Fair or above, they need only be in the same room to do this. If both Diviners are below Fair in Auspex, they must be in physical contact. If one Diviner is above and the other below fair, the average of their skills determines what is required for free communication. This is not directed telepathy, however, and if another Diviner happens to be in the room as well, or in physical contact, said other diviner(s) can 'eavesdrop' without having to make a roll - after all, you're not trying to hide your thoughts. * In standard RP, a diviner with Auspex at Fair or above can always receive the thoughts or emotions that are aimed at him, if he knows to be listening. This is not quite the same thing as the more standard 'eavesdropping' use of the power. Counters Light: Dispel, Serenity, Silence Skills: Mask, Disguise, Willpower In addition to the above, however, one need only be creative. A diviner actively using Auspex can easily be adversely affected by, for example, a sudden loud sound (particularly if it's a discordant or painful loud sound), or an unpleasant odor (sour milk, bad eggs, cheap perfume, etc.) or clashing colors or sudden bright lights. It is important to note that the less unpleasant the sensory intrusion is, the less likely a Diviner is to be driven off by it. An Auspex-using diviner simply has, for that duration, a much higher sensitivity to such intrusions and a lower pain threshold than most around him. Where an Untouched person might make a face, or wince, or startle - those are the events that would have an Auspex-diviner reacting most dramatically. Category:Divination